


April - Confessions and Epiphanies

by eadreytheiptscray



Series: More Than Friends (AroWriMo 2020) [3]
Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Kaiju, Confessions, Gen, LGBTQ Characters, Light marital romance, Otherwise no romo, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:14:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 2,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22856080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eadreytheiptscray/pseuds/eadreytheiptscray
Summary: Finally, communication!AroWriMo submission info:-Category:Subverting romantic tropes-Prompt:Week 3 - Friendship and pride-Genre:Slice of life-Content warnings:Marital affection and love confessions
Series: More Than Friends (AroWriMo 2020) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1619677
Kudos: 10





	1. Yancy

Tendo had been onto something when he'd suggested Yancy should take a break. It was nice having The Shatterdome all to himself on a Sunday. He'd be unmotivated to do taxes anywhere else.

But the silence soon turned eerie. Yancy thought about turning on the coffee grinder just to hear some white noise, but he decided to text Tendo instead.

> **[YB]:** Hey
> 
> **[TC]:** Sup?
> 
> **[YB]:** Is it weird to say I miss you
> 
> **[TC]:** You've only been gone six hours. Have you taken a break??
> 
> **[YB]:** Uh…
> 
> **[TC]:** So that's a no
> 
> **[YB]:** I'm swamped. I can't afford to take a break.
> 
> **[TC]:** Fine. Stay there, I'll see you in 30

The door chimes jingled as Tendo stepped inside. "Yo, Yance."

"Back here!" He called.

Tendo was carrying two greasy paper bags that could only be from Chau's. "I was going to tease you for hating the silence, but it's spooky in here."

"Lonely, too."

It was less lonely with the two of them chowing down on burgers. Unlike with some of his other friends, Yancy could enjoy the silence with Tendo. No need to fill it with small talk or deep discussions. It was one of the many things he appreciated about his and Tendo's friendship.

Friends—no, that didn't fit their relationship anymore. Who else would buy Yancy lunch and tell him to stop working himself to death? Who not only knew his favorite place in the world but would take him there for a whole weekend? And who would forego a six-figure salary with a suit-and-tie career to open a coffee shop by their college campus?

Yancy held up his half-eaten burger. "Seriously, Tendo. Thanks." _Wow, Yance, you sure have a way with words._

"Anything for my best friend."

"No," he muttered, "I think we're more than that." 

The words were out of his mouth before he'd realized he'd voiced them. Tendo had frozen mid-chew, and Yancy couldn't get his words straight. 

"Ah, wait, what I mean—hold on. Let me start over." His gaze slid to the floor. "We've been so close for years. You were there for me when my mom died. You helped me take care of Rals. You even started this business with me. Friends don't normally do that kind of thing."

Silence.

"What I'm trying to say is... "Yancy took a deep breath. "I consider you a brother. Part of the family."

Tendo choked on his burger. "You mean it?"

Yancy nodded.

"You're gonna make me cry, man." Sure enough, Tendo was wiping his face with a greasy napkin.

"So..." What else was there to say? 

As it turns out, nothing. "C'mere," Tendo said, and he pulled Yancy into a tight hug.


	2. Tendo

Tendo always knew what to say in any given situation—at least that what he told himself—but he was left speechless by Yancy's confession. As he left the back office, preparing to step out into the pouring rain, he couldn't help but think he should have said something different.

_Friends don't normally do that kind of thing._

Well, yeah. Yancy had gone from roommate to best friend practically overnight, skipping right over the awkward acquaintance-friendship stage. But that's what tended to happen when your roommate finds you curled up under three blankets and crying after coming out to your mom. From that moment on, Yancy had been the first to comfort Tendo through all his low moments.

_Part of the family._

Yancy had said it all—what else could he add? That Yancy was just as much an anchor to Tendo as he claimed Tendo was to him? That he was the brother Tendo wished he had growing up?

"Tendo? You okay?"

"Yeah," he croaked.

The rain had stopped, but he couldn't move.

 _Aw, screw it._ "Hey, Yance?"

"What's up?" Yancy stood as Tendo rushed into the back office.

"I…" But the words wouldn't come. He just wrapped Yancy in another hug.

"At a loss for words?"

Tendo stuck out his tongue in response to Yancy's smirk. "Shut up, man."


	3. Raleigh

Ever since that first movie night, Raleigh had tried to hang out regularly with Mako and Chuck. At first they'd just gone to the campus theater when a good movie was playing, but then they'd started grabbing dinner together beforehand. Then once a week. By the time April rolled around, they'd been hanging out every night.

Well, up until recently.

The end of April meant May—and final exam week—was around the corner. Although Mako and Chuck still holed up in The Shatterdome to study (at the same table, no less), they didn't have much time to hang out with Raleigh afterward. Typically because they were both pulling all-nighters at the library.

That didn't stop them from enjoying each other's company, though. Raleigh made them friendship specials as encouragement, and he'd sneak a couple of pastries when Tendo wasn't looking. They would look at him when they needed a break. 

Raleigh couldn't decide what he enjoyed more: Mako's amused smile as Chuck recalled some of the pranks they pulled as kids, or Chuck's dramatic reactions as Mako told tall tales of their childhood rivalry.

It was an uneventful day at The Shatterdome, with Chuck and Mako mirroring each other in their study habits, that he had an epiphany: _Man, I love those guys._

That thought caught him off-guard, and he must've made a face, because Tendo threw him a curious look. He just shook his head and smiled. But the more he thought about them, the more he realized they had become his best friends.

"What's with that face?" Chuck called, snapping Raleigh out of his thoughts.

"Daydreaming?" Mako chimed in.

Raleigh only grinned and made two friendship specials. "On the house for my two best friends."

They both grinned back at him.


	4. Mako

"Aw, c'mon, Mako, it's just dinner!"

Mako shoved the door open, not bothering to hold it for the guy two steps behind her. She'd never been so glad to see Chuck, who was hunched over his laptop with what looked like a Reckoner by his elbow. 

"We don't even have to call it a date."

Mako slid into her seat and pulled out her laptop, but her classmate still didn't take the hint. Across from her, Chuck stiffened.

"Hey, mate," he said, "leave her alone."

"What's your problem?"

Mako met Chuck's gaze, and for once she wished he could read her mind. At least he could read her expression, because he nodded ever so slightly.

"My problem," Chuck continued, swinging around to face her classmate, "is you're bothering my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" The guy choked out just as Mako coughed in surprise.

"Yeah." Chuck rose out of his seat. He towered over the guy. "Now do you want to take this conversation elsewhere? Or are you going to leave Mako alone?"

Mako had never seen anyone scurry away as fast as her classmate did. Chuck sat down once the door chimes stopped jingling, and he hunched back over his laptop like nothing had happened.

"Girlfriend?" Mako murmured.

"I panicked, okay?" Chuck shook his head. "Don't be getting any ideas."

"Don't you be getting any ideas."

Chuck looked up, a smirk on his face. They locked eyes for a few seconds, and then Chuck burst out laughing.

"Did you see the look on that guy's face?" Mako said through tears.

"I thought he was gonna wet himself."

Silence settled over them again as they focused on their study notes. But Mako still wasn't convinced. "We're good, right?"

Chuck nodded. "Yeah, Mori. We're good."


	5. Chuck

It had been an hour since either of them had spoken, and Chuck didn't want to break their concentration by bringing up a touchy subject. But after shooing away Mako's admirer, he figured now was the best time to ask. 

"Hey, Mako," Chuck said as casually as possible, "can I ask you something?"

He saw her tense. So much for casual.

"When you say we're good…" He looked up. "You mean friends, right?"

Her shoulders relaxed. "Right."

"Okay good. 'Cause I was just thinking about us growing up next door to each other and being rivals and all that, and I was really hoping you weren't romantically—wait, we're friends?"

"I thought you just asked me that?"

"I did but…" He massaged his stiff neck. "We never defined… whatever this is. We're rivals, I guess, but… I never realized we were proper friends until now."

Mako smirked. "That's because we weren't. Although now that you mention it… I realize I always wanted you to be my friend."

"Really?"

She nodded. "You liked the same things I did, but you always seemed keen on beating me. I can remember wanting to play with you at recess but being scared you'd turn whatever game we played into a competition."

Chuck frowned and looked away. "Truth is, I thought you were cool. So cool, in fact, that you wouldn't want to hang out with me unless I could prove I was better than you at something."

Mako didn't respond for some time, and when he glanced up, he found her staring daggers through him. 

"That makes no sense."

"I know, right?" He grinned sheepishly. "So how do you want to make up that lost time?"

"I'll let you know after finals. Does this mean you aren't still vying for valedictorian?"

"In your dreams, Mako."


	6. Aleksis

"Are you happy?"

Sasha nodded, continuing to stare out the front window at the bustling street outside The Shatterdome. "I'm just thinking."

"Are you happy?" Aleksis repeated.

She turned to him. "I am. Why?"

Despite rehearsing this conversation in the hours leading up to their date—what they would call a date, at least—he fell silent.

" _Aleksis, what's wrong?_ " Her voice was low and melodic in their native tongue.

Knowing no one else could understand them made it easier to start the conversation. " _Are you happy being married to me?_ "

Now Sasha fell silent Normally he could decipher her expressions, but he didn't know what's behind this one. Confusion? Hurt? Uncertainty?

That's what he was feeling, at least.

" _You're my constant companion_ ," she said , but those words fell flat, like she was trying to convince herself of the truth behind them.

Straight to the point, then. " _Do you love me_?" 

" _Yes_." No hesitation—an encouraging sign. " _And you love me_."

" _I do. But I need you to know my love for you is different_." 

Aleksis paused to find courage in his cup of coffee. " _I watch movies with you to hear you laugh. I keep quiet around you to focus on your presence. I decline guys' nights to spend more time with you. Romance…." He sighed. "I don't understand it. And I don't understand how I feel about you, not really. But know this: I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side._ "

He felt weightless, like something heavy had dropped off his shoulders. All those expectations about being married, being a loving husband, being the "man" of the house—irrelevant. The epiphany and his honesty were freeing.

But his smile faded when he saw his wife's blank expression.


	7. Sasha

_And you love me._

Sasha had never doubted that Aleksis loved her. But she was wholly unprepared for him clarifying how he felt about her.

It was no secret their relationship was different. It was a persistent point of contention for her mother, who tried to weigh down Aleksis with her expectations. (As far as Sasha knew, her mother's comments simply rolled off his shoulders.) And from talking with so many wives about their spouses and seeing how relationships were portrayed in American media, she knew romance wasn't a cornerstone of her own marriage.

A voice she often ignored had told her it was her fault their relationship wasn't conventional. But now it was silent in the wake of Aleksis' confession. Maybe now she could make her own confession with confidence.

" _Sasha… please say something._ "

She swore under her breath—she wasn't ready to have this conversation. But Aleksis had been honest with her. Surely she could afford him the same courtesy.

" _I can't imagine life without you,_ " she started. " _And I love you— like those fools in the movies I laugh at. I feel most comfortable with you at my side. You support me unconditionally, and you never fault me for failing to live up to your expectations. But…_ "

She sniffed and looked away. " _If I'm being honest, our situation is stifling me. I feel trapped in our own home, in this conventional life. I have only ever listened to what my mother or your father or our mentors told me, but now I know there's more to life than what they've said._ "

A flood of thoughts rush out before she can rein her words in. " _I want my life to be different, Aleksis. I want to go back to school, work a trade, and make something meaningful with my hands. They don't want to work with delicate things, and they certainly don't want to raise children._ " Her voice had started shaking. " _And I understand if… if you'd want to find someone more traditional—_ "

" _No_." No hesitation.

" _No…?_ "

" _I'm not leaving you, Sasha. You say you're not traditional, but neither am I. Our families may mean well, but their perspectives are limited. When I married you, I vowed to support you no matter the circumstances. Nothing has changed._ "

Left speechless, all Sasha could do is reach across the table. Aleksis takes her hand and squeezes it. 

"I love you," he says again in English. "And that won't change."


End file.
